Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has been warned he risks creating a lost generation of supporters if he fails to invest in the club.

21 April 2015 03:00 AM

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has been warned he risks creating a lost generation of supporters if he fails to invest in the club.

Thousands of fans stayed away from Sunday's Premier League defeat by Tottenham at St James' Park in protest at the way the sportswear Tycoon is running the club, with the official attendance of 47,427 - the capacity of the stadium is in excess of 52,000 - understood to include many season ticket holders who did not attend.

Protesters are calling for a repeat when Swansea head for Tyneside on Saturday, but fanzine Mark Jensen fears longer-term consequences.

Jensen, who himself stayed away from Sunday's game, said: "I feel sorry for young people, what they are watching now and this lack of ambition. At least when I was young, the team might have been rubbish and we were going nowhere, but it was exciting to be on the terraces."